MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER
DR. THE HON. EWART F. BROWN JP, MP
10TH ANNUAL OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL
LONDON, 26TH – 29TH OCTOBER 2008

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to report to this Honourable House on my attendance at the 10th Annual Overseas Territories Consultative Council in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable members may well be aware of the hectic schedule I kept during this visit to London but it is my duty to report on these matters formally to this Honourable House.

In advance of the OTCC, Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to host more than one hundred and fifty Bermudian students to dinner in the heart of London. This annual event is for me a highlight as I find our young people to be engaging, intelligent and hungry for information. This year’s attendees did not disappoint. Mr. Speaker we had lively exchanges and I was impressed by the openness of the students and by the manner in which they expressed themselves.

This is an excellent method by which to engage and I look forward to taking the face of government to our young people wherever they are.

Mr. Speaker, I view it as an important part of my work to promote Bermuda abroad on many fronts. In the course of this visit to London interviews were facilitated for me with CNBC’s live programme Squawk Box, the BBC, Bloomberg and other influential media where I took the opportunity to reassure our international audience that Bermuda’s insurance and reinsurance sectors are strong and that in spite of the present economic challenges our sound regulatory environment, fiscal prudence and commitment to working with our international business partners stands us in good stead.

These themes were echoed, Mr. Speaker, when I fulfilled an invitation to address a group of very influential business leaders of The American European Business Association. The assembled guests were drawn from a “who’s who” in business in the UK, some of whose companies enjoy a presence in Bermuda. In a wide-ranging 2 ½ hour session I was able to share with them on the state of Bermuda’s economy and the keen attention being paid to global circumstances as we seek to mitigate the ill-effects of these economic issues.

In advance of the OTCC meeting proper, the leaders of the respective Overseas Territory Governments met amongst themselves to determine unified strategies for canvassing issues with the British Government.

As I indicated when speaking from London, Mr. Speaker, this presents an invaluable opportunity in an open setting.

Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th of October were devoted to a full agenda of sessions chaired by the newly appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the Minister responsible for the Overseas Territories, Gillian Merron MP.

The Minister has a no-nonsense and direct approach and this made for spirited discussions. The respective heads of government were unanimous in their concern at the impact of the Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK’s House of Commons. In a series of sweeping generalities based in some cases on inaccurate information, the reputations of Territories were jeopardized by the report.

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to lead the call for a more robust defence of the Territories from the UK Government. In the case of Bermuda it was extremely puzzling to me that the Report made little reference to the elected Government’s position on most issues but seemed more sympathetic to the Opposition’s cause.

Mr. Speaker, our sessions considered issues as diverse as climate change and disaster management to witness protection and good governance.

This was a productive visit complimented by wide, public acclaim for Bermuda’s leadership in the areas of financial regulations and the negotiations of Tax Information Exchange Agreements ably led by the Honourable Member who is the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall that in 1999, in an effort to enhance the relationship with the Overseas Territories, the UK Government produced its White Paper, Partnership through Progress. The OTCC resolved that next year’s meeting would include a day-long forum devoted to assessing the progress made and to setting the parameters for the next decade.

Mr. Speaker, it is prudent for me to sound a note of warning at this stage. In the course of this OTCC I perceived the growing discomfort of the UK Government with respect to the OTs meeting the standards of certain treaties to which UK is enjoined through the European Union.

Cultural norms and political sensibilities appeared to have little sway when raised by Territory leaders as reason for not amending local legislation to accord with some of these sensitive areas. With this in mind it seems to me that we may not be far away from the UK Government using those legislative mechanisms at its disposal to impose on Territories, standards and laws which may not be desired by their people.

Thank you Mr. Speaker.